A MidWinter Night's ME andering
by SecretScribe
Summary: On the Road to Lothlorien Karla contemplates her role in the Fellowship
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Just to let you all know. I neither own the characters nor the copy right on them. I'm just obsessed about them and think about them way too much

A/N:  I know the whole person from our world finds him/herself in Middle Earth has been done numerous times ad nauseum, but I am writing this for a someone as a friendly joke, and thought I would share it with all of you out there as well.  Please enjoy

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Prologue—The End To A Long Day (Or Late Night Discoveries)

            Looking at her watch, Karla couldn't wait for this day to end.  "Whoever thought of the idea of a back-to-back showing of the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy must have been out of his mind," Karla silently mused to herself as she wondered why she had agreed to work that much over-time.  Considering that each movie was a little over three hours long and she was also covering for another girl and therefore was staying until closing, it was going to be a very long night for her.

            Karla just couldn't wait for the day to end.  Not much of a Lord of the Rings fan, seeing as how she had never even read the books, "like reading the books are that important anyway.  I work in the theatre.  The movie is just as good and a lot less time consuming."  But watching the hoards of people queue up to buy their tickets for the movie, she was just glad that it wasn't a Star Trek Marathon showing.  At least Lord of the Rings fans dressed and acted normally.

            And so, when time for the end of her shift came, and it came none too soon for her liking, she slowly walked home feeling like she had had more than enough Lord of the Rings anything for a very long time.  "And if Caitlin heard me say that she'd probably shoot me."  No one was more of a Lord of the Rings fan than Karla's friend Caitlin. Well, there probably were people more fanatical about Lord of the Rings, but if so, Karla had happily never made their acquaintance.

            The funny thing was, the more that she tried to think of something other than that marathon of a movie session the more it kept popping into her head.  She couldn't get the movies out of her head, not that she minded thinking of Orlando Bloom all that much, but those hobbits, well, their feet did look kinda gross, and then there was that Gollum character.  He's the stuff nightmares are made of.

            But still, Karla was determined to put all of the movies out of her head.  She came home, hopped on line, checked her email hoping that someone would have something interesting to say to her to distract her, but finding nothing interesting there decided to read a book before going to bed.  The new Mary Higgins Clark was supposed to be very good and it only took her forever to get a copy from the Library.

             But not even that was enough to distract her.  Falling asleep, her last coherent thought was that if she ever saw another Tolkien movie again it would be to soon.  And falling into a deep dreamless sleep Karla was glad that she could sleep in, as she didn't have to work the next day.  And turning over in bed she was surprised at how comfortable the bed felt.  For some reason it just felt softer and larger than she remembered, which was odd considering she'd been sleeping in that same bed for years now and had always felt exactly the same..

            Waking up the next morning she couldn't help but feel small and slightly out of place, but since she was so comfortable she didn't want to open her eyes and start her day.  "It's too early to get up," she mumbled to herself wondering why she felt like she had to be up and doing something.

            Suddenly she felt someone shaking her, seemingly intent on waking her up.  Just as she was about to tell her little brother to lay off and let her sleep in, a voice she had never heard before, but which sounded frighteningly familiar spoke to her.

            "Pippin wake up.  If you don't get out of bed everyone is going to leave without us!"

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TBC……


	2. The Great Awakening

Disclaimer: Just in case you didn't know, I neither own the characters nor the copy right on them. I'm just obsessed about them and think about them way too much

A/N:  I know the whole person from our world finds him/herself in Middle Earth has been done numerous times ad nauseum, but I am writing this for a someone as a friendly challenge, and thought I would share it with all of you out there as well.  Please enjoy

And I'd just like to thank everyone who has reviewed my story to date.  I really appreciate the fact that you found my story enjoyable enough to comment on it.

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Chapter 1—A Great Awakening

Laying completely still, Karla could not believe what she just heard.  Either there was someone in bed with her, and that was a completely frightening thought, or else she was having auditory hallucinations, and after last night's shift, that wouldn't really surprise her.  And so, she lay there, afraid to move.  Of what she was afraid, she didn't really know.  It wasn't like her little brother to play these kind of practical jokes on her, and if she really was hearing things, well there are very few people in the world who would really want to be crazy, although as an artist it would most likely be accepted better than in most occupations.

"Pippin, did you hear what I said?  Get your lazy butt out of bed and get dressed.  Gandalf won't wait for you, and Frodo and Sam are already down stairs."

"Frodo and Sam?" Karla could hear herself mumble, but for some unknown reason her voice sounded very odd to her ears.  If she didn't know better, she would have thought it was someone else's voice that was talking, even though she could feel herself speak.  But that just didn't make sense.  Maybe she was just coming down with a cold.  Still, who would be calling her Pippin, of all the crazy names? 

But since the speaker, whomever he was, was getting quite persistent with his shaking, and fearing that she'd lose whatever fillings she had in her teeth if he didn't stop, Karla carefully untangled herself from the covers she was hiding under and sat up to face her assailant.

Of all the things she expected, what she saw was the last thing she ever could have imagined she would see.  Standing beside the bed, looking at her with a look of veiled annoyance stood Meriadoc Brandybuck.  It wasn't the Merry from the movie, although how Karla could have known that this was Merry, she couldn't have said.  But by that same token, she knew all the same that this was Merry Brandybuck, just as she knew she was no longer in Kansas, as the saying goes (not that she had ever been to Kansas).

"Would you get a move on, you lazy Took.  No one is going to wait for you.  Better yet, be late and Lord Elrond can make you go back to the Shire alone.  That would teach you a lesson!"  And with that, Merry left the room, presumably to meet the rest of the fellowship as they prepared to head out.

Jumping to her feet Karla quickly grabbed the clothes that had been laid out for her and dressed herself, looking around the room for a mirror.  As odd as it seemed, there just didn't seem to be a mirror in the room.  Didn't all rooms have mirrors?  Shrugging it off, she grabbed Pippin's pack, which had been very thoughtfully packed for her, considering she'd have no idea what to pack and no time to do any packing even if she knew what to pack, and raced out the door hoping to be able to find the rest of the party before they all left without her.

"About time you got here, " Merry grumbled as Karla took the seat next to him and helped herself to breakfast.

"Sorry I'm late," Karla said to the group as she looked around the table trying to see if she could recognize everyone.  Even though no one looked the same as they had in the movie, Karla knew instinctively who everyone was.  There was no mistaking Gandalf, for he was the only one there dressed in long grey robes with a long flowing white beard.  Frodo and Sam were another easy pair, Frodo being the one with the ring on a chain around his neck and Sam the one waiting on him, making sure he ate enough for a Hobbit.

Aragorn was an interesting one.  Having never been in the presence of a King before, and though she couldn't say exactly why, there was no mistaking this man's leadership ability. Something in his very being cried out 'king'.  But looking at Boromir she was surpised to see how friendly and trustworthy he looked.  The way he looked in the movie, well, she had thought he would look a little more, well, evil or something.  If nothing else, she had assumed he would at least have looked mean.  He was the one to fall so easily under the seduction of the ring, trying to take it by force before being killed.  But looking at him across the table from her she was struck by how different he looked compared to how she had imagined him to look, and how different he looked from the actor who portrayed him.

Realizing that she had been staring at him, Karla quickly looked down at her plate and started shoveling food into her mouth, relishing the taste of the wonderful food.

"Hurry up and finish everyone.  After breakfast we have one last meeting with Lord Elrond before we begin our quest."  So saying, Gandalf stood up and began to head towards Elrond's study, motioning everyone else to do the same.  And Karla, stuffing the last of her gigantic breakfast into her mouth, quickly ran to keep up with the rest of the group.

The rest of the morning went by as a blur to Karla, who kept having to remind herself that she had better start answering to the name Pippin.  The problem was, she just didn't feel like a Pippin, but at least no one was calling her a pipsqueak yet.  Never tall, even in the best of circumstances, she knew well all the nasty names people called short people, or vertically challenged as they are called in the real world, she mentally reminds herself.  To be honest, she was little more than hobbit sized to begin with.

"Pippin.  Your name is Pippin.  Pippin.  Pippin.  Pippin," Karla mumbled to herself to get used to hearing the name applied to her.

"Are you alright Pippin?"  Frodo was looking at her kind of oddly, as though afraid that she might have gone around the bend one time too many or something.  

"Oh, I'm just fine Frodo.  Don't you worry yourself about me none."  That was just what she needed, she mentally chastised herself, to have the rest of the fellowship thinking that she was losing her mind.  Although, at times, she wasn't altogether sure she wasn't.  These kinds of things just didn't happen to normal people.

And with that, Karla picked up Pippin's bag and moved to stand over with the rest of the fellowship as it prepared to start their journey by heading out from Rivendell.

"Just remember Pip," Merry's voice said from beside him, "try to behave yourself and don't get into any trouble."

"Like I'd get into trouble," Karla responded back, slightly insulted that someone would think she'd go out of her way to get into trouble or something.

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TBC………………..

Oh ya, and reviews are always appreciated.


	3. Cold Comforts and Camp Fires

Disclaimer: Just to let you all know. I neither own the characters nor the copy right on them. I'm just obsessed about them and think about them way too much, not that I wouldn't love to own them, as they are so much fun.

A/N:  I know the whole person from our world finds him/herself in Middle Earth has been done numerous times ad nauseum, but I am writing this for a someone as a friendly joke, and thought I would share it with all of you out there as well.  Please enjoy and reviews are kindly and gladly accepted.  

So, if you found my story the least bit enjoyable, please drop a review by and let me know…reviews are great motivators to keep writing

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Ch 2 Cold Comforts and Camp Fires

Karla couldn't remember every having gotten into so much trouble in her whole life.  By the end of the first week she was absolutely positive that 'Took' was the Hobbit's word for trouble.  Oh, things started off all right.  Where walking was concerned, Karla had had lots of practice doing that.  Not one to drive, she was used to walking most places.  But camping, well, that was a completely different matter.  Karla did not camp.

That is not to say that Karla had never been camping, oh, she had done that before.  She had been camping once, and had even lived to tell about it, not small feat, as she would be happy to tell anyone who asked her.  During family get together her family would laugh and talk about 'the' camping trip.  But this, well, this was completely different.  This was like camping taken to the extreme. 

But the first thing Karla noticed on her outdoor adventure was the cold.  After leaving Rivendell the Fellowship made straight for the Ford of Bruinen and then turned south.  The key direction there, at least for Karla, was south.  "Shouldn't things be getting warmer the more south we go?" she mumbled to herself, but all she could feel were the icy blasts of air that assailed the whole company.

No amount of tucking her cloak and assorted clothing pieces around herself managed to maker her feel any warmer.   For her, time seemed to pass in a steady stream of shivers, shivers and the hope of warm fire at then end of the day (but shucks, no s'mores).

After the first night Karla quickly learned that packing in Middle Earth was nothing like packing back home.  There were just so many 'things' in her pack, most of which she had no idea what they were or why they were there.  And so, after trying to pack everything back into her pack the next morning, grumbling and cursing all the while (she couldn't for the life of her figure out how all that stuff managed to come from such a small pack to begin with) Merry took pity on her and came over to help.

"Do you not remember how to pack your own bag Pip?"  Merry queried, looking like Karla had lost what little was left of her senses.  That was not the first mistake of that kind that Karla had made.  Luckily, being quick on her feet about those sorts of things, she managed to cover those faux pas quite nicely. This one, on the other hand, was not so easy to find an excuse for.

"Well, Sam's just so much better at it than I am" Karla responded, guessing that Sam probably had helped pack up the packs last time.  Since Sam had just packed his own, Frodo's and had tried to help Merry, Karla guessed that Pippin had gotten Sam to help out on his.

"True, but Strider wants us all to get into the habit of packing up our own stuff.  It will make breaking camp that much faster."

"Phew," Karla sighed to herself, glad to have gotten out of that one.  But little did Karla know that that was just the start of the trouble to come. 

After walking what felt like forever Karla was glad when Strider decided to call in a day and make camp.  She was so cold she couldn't even feel her fingers or her toes.  "I'm surprised I don't have frost bite yet," Karla mumbles putting her pack down and trying to get some circulation, or at least some feeling, back into her fingers.

"Well, we knew it wasn't going to be a quaint summer stroll, Pip," Merry commented, placing his back and bed roll beside Karla.

"I know, but there is a decided difference between quaint summer stroll and hiking in the deep freeze."

"Deep freeze is it, Master Took?" Aragorn commented, the laughter audible in his voice.  "Well, if you're that cold, then why don't you make supper tonight.  That way you can stay nice and close to the fire."

"Cook?"  The panic was almost palpable.  Anyone who knew Karla knew that she didn't cook.  It wasn't that she couldn't cook; anyone could make a PB&J, but cooking camping food over an open flame, well that took real skill.  But either no one noticed, or no one seemed to care.  With her choked out question all but ignored, the rest of the fellowship went along it's merry was unpack and getting ready to set up guards and watches after dinner.

Looking at the fire pit, Karla had a sinking sensation in her stomach.  A girl scout she was not…well, there were those two days back when she was eight.  No, those did NOT count.  She could definitely not be called a girl scout by any definition of the word.  That being so, she did not have the foggiest idea how to start a fire without a lighter, and the odds were pretty good that they would not even know what one was, let along have one.  Did they have flint?  And if so, how would that help her.

Not for the first time, she was beginning to regret that she had no real practical outdoors experience.  Trying to pile the wood into the semblance of a nice arrangement (although she knew in her head that there was probably a proper way of organizing the wood so that it would burn properly and for a longer time, not that she knew what that was), Karla couldn't stop herself from mumbling, "don't these people understand the term 'city-slicker'?"

Looking around the campsite, watching Boromir clean his horn, Gimli sharpen his axe, Legolas fix some of his arrows and Aragorn go over his supply of medicines, Karla had the sinking feeling that she was on her own in the cooking department.  Even Sam seemed pleasantly occupied at that moment, tending to Frodo, looking after some comfort that he probably didn't even need anyway.

Well, after a couple of failed attempts to get a fire started, Karla finally did manage to get the wood lit, although how she wasn't sure.  Actually, she was quite proud of the feat, considering she had never done it before. The only problem was, the way that she had the logs arranged in the fire pit, which, much to her chagrin she had forgotten to put stones around to prevent the fire from spreading, was arranged in such a way that the fire caused the logs to collapse very heavily.  Now, normally that might not have been too much of a problem, but seeing as how she did forget to put any stones to encompass the fire pit (and since she didn't dig a 'pit' it was more just a spot on the ground), the sparks flew out everywhere, and, being the lucky person that she was, managed to fly right at Gandalf, Legolas and Aragorn.

Luckily for them, Legolas and Aragorn were pretty quick on their feet and managed to get out of the spray of spark before any damage could be done.  Gandalf, on the other hand, was neither as agile nor as quick.  The spray of sparks, caught just on an inopportune wind, flew right at him, covering him with soot and ash.

"Now how am I going to explain that one?" was all Karla could think, as suddenly she was the center of everyone's attention.

"Having a little trouble there, are we little one?"  Coming over to stand next to Karla, Boromir looked at the disaster that was once her campfire.  "Well, I can see no one has ever taught you how to lay a proper camp fire.  I guess now would be a good time to start."  And with that, Boromir began showing Karla the rudiments of outdoor living.

But all night long, Karla could not get the image out of her head of Gandalf, sitting talking to Aragorn, looking down at his robes in horror as little sparks few at him, causing little holes to be burned into his robes.  "At least nothing really caught fire."  Feeling a little embarrassed, Karla turned over in her bedroll, trying to get some sleep as the humiliation of the day played itself out again in her head.

"You look so much like your cousins, Pippin, I forget that you're quite a bit younger than they are."  Coming to wake her up for her turn at standing watch, Aragorn took the time to comment on her lack of 'outdoors' experience.  Luckily for her, though, he didn't seem to think it was all that strange.  "Maybe Pippin wasn't such an outdoorsy person himself" Karla couldn't help but think to herself.

"But it is time for you and I to take our watch."

Moving closer to Aragorn, Karla and Aragorn spent a long night watching over the rest of the fellowship.


	4. Karla, Aragorn, and a Knight Under the S...

Disclaimer: Just to let you all know. I neither own the characters nor the copy right on them. I'm just obsessed about them and think about them way too much, not that I wouldn't love to own them, as they are so much fun.

A/N:  I know the whole person from our world finds him/herself in Middle Earth has been done numerous times ad nauseum, but I am writing this for a someone as a friendly joke, and thought I would share it with all of you out there as well.  Please enjoy and reviews are kindly and gladly accepted.  

So, if you found my story the least bit enjoyable, please drop a review by and let me know…reviews are great motivators to keep writing.

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Chapter 2 ½   Karla, Aragorn, and a Knight Under the Stars

Sitting, keeping watch with Aragorn, Karla was struck by how completely ill prepared she was for the whole adventure.  Not only has she not read the book, which she has had to continually assure herself is not a tragedy, but she has no real camping experience, as the fiasco with the camp fire showed to everyone (and in Technicolor too).  Yet, somehow she had to survive the whole thing.  And, she was pretty certain she would survive, if her own incompetence didn't get her killed first, as Pippin, at least, survived to the end of the second movie (wasn't there something about he, Merry and a giant walking tree?).

But as the quiet encased the two sentinels, Karla was tempted, on numerous occasions, to confess the reality of the situation to Aragorn.  'But, would they believe me?'  That question was ever present in her mind, a source of conflict and fear.  Sitting beside her, Aragorn looked trustworthy and so very dependable that Karla couldn't not help but be tempted to confide in him.  Yet, she had no real idea how he would react if he thought she was anyone but who she was suppose to be.  And watching him sharpen his sword, Karla could not help but feel completely over-whelmed, an emotion that must have shown on her face.

"Pippin, you needn't look so worried.  Everything has been very quiet so far and it is a fair bet that it will be so for the entire night."

"It's not that, Strider."  Karla began wondering how to voice her concerns over her lack of ability without giving herself away.  "It is just that, well, things are just so much different here."

"Is that what is bothering you?"

"I wouldn't say 'bothering'."  Not wanting to sound like a wimp, as she was pretty sure Pippin didn't (did he?), Karla had to do some mental back-tracking to make Pippin look both smarter and braver than she felt, f only for her own piece of mind.  "But you big people are carrying swords, which means we're heading into some serious stuff."

"True enough"

"And well, Lord Elrond even gave Merry, Sam and myself a sword for this journey too."

Nodding, Aragorn remained silent, encouraging Pippin to continue, hoping this conversation would help explain Pippin's odd behaviour.  "It's just that you all seem to have some skill to add, and, well, Frodo, he's the ring-bearer; Merry, he's good at maps and directions and stuff; and, well, even Sam is useful as the cook."

"It's sort of like this, if anything ever happened to Merry and myself, we are pretty helpless.  We couldn't defend ourselves, wouldn't even know how to defend ourselves if something happened or someone attacked."

Looking at her as though she'd just spoken Greek or something Aragorn paused, as if contemplating his next words carefully.  "You are absolutely correct.  And, that is something that needs to be rectified as soon as possible.  In the morning Boromir can begin to teach both you and Merry the rudimentary skills of sword play, which will keep you busy and away from the camp fire."

Watching Aragorn size her up after that last comment Karla thought that she had totally blown it.  Was Pippin not that intelligent to recognize his lack of skills as a serious weakness?  He did seem pretty ditsy in the movie, but Karla just chalked that up to Hollywood.  Suddenly feeling the seeds of panic begin to take root in her stomach, for how much of a difference in Pippin would the Aragorn, one of the leaders of this fellowship, allow?  But looking up at Aragorn after his last comment, with his casual air and teasing smile, Karla began to relax and was able to enjoy the rest of the night with Strider.

'Tomorrow should be a snap' she mentally commented to herself.  How hard could wielding a sword be anyway?  


	5. Roles, Rest, and Realisations

**Disclaimer: Just to let you all know. I neither own the characters nor the copy right on them. I'm just obsessed about them and think about them way too much, not that I wouldn't love to own them, as they are so much fun.******

**A/N:  I know the whole person from our world finds him/herself in Middle Earth has been done numerous times ad nauseum, but I am writing this for a someone as a friendly joke, and thought I would share it with all of you out there as well.  Please enjoy and reviews are kindly and gladly accepted.  **

**So, if you found my story the least bit enjoyable, please drop a review by and let me know…reviews are great motivators to keep writing.**

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Chapter 3  Roles, Rest and Realisations

Swordplay was one of the most difficult things Karla had ever learned.  Never the overly athletic type, Karla tended to steer clear of the more physical aspects of physical activity.  She could not, in her entire life, ever remember feeling that exhausted.  The hair on the top of her head even hurt at the thought of moving.  "Why did I open my big mouth," Karla mumbled to herself.  But, by the laughter that ensued after that comment she had to assume that everyone heard it anyway.  Mostly, she was later to remember, it had had to be due to the fact that elves have very good hearing to accompany their excellent eyesight.

"Well, I'm sure using a bow is a lot easier to learn," Karla commented to the laughing crowd.  At lest she knew the basics of using a bow, having used it before in her physical education class.  But by the round of laughter that comment caused Karla had to assume that the fellowship didn't believe her. 

Only Merry seemed to sympathize with Karla's exhausted and abused feeling body.  And that, most likely, was due to the fact that he was in much the same condition as she was.

Waking up early, Aragorn had decided that merry and Pippin ought to have their first lesson before breaking their fast, while Sam made breakfast and the rest of the fellowship broke camp.  "What insane thought ever lead me to believe that swordplay would be easy," Karla soon found herself mumbling.  But to be fair, Aragorn and Boromir did make it look easy.  In fact, they made it look extremely easy.

Flopping down for a quick break before the fellowship started off again for the day, Karla couldn't help but despair at their situation.  For the first time in her life she felt completely useless.

"Patience, little one," Boromir said, responding to the unvoiced question that could easily be read on her face.  "No one had ever learned how to wield a sword in one day.  Both you and Merry are doing exceptionally well.  And, I only gave you a few bruises."  Ruffling Karla's hair, Boromir stood up and walked over to help the rest of the group finish packing, giving Karla and Merry a few minutes to rest and recover.

"Few hundred, more like it!" Karla grumbled out loud, flinging that comment at Boromir's retreating back.  The sound of Boromir's laughter was the only response she got.

All packed and ready to leave, everyone looked to Gandalf for direction and a sign that they were to leave.  And, standing beside Frodo, Gandalf quietly commented how, at last, the weather would be milder, if perhaps more dangerous.

"But the mountains are ahead of us," said Karla.  "We must have turned eastward in the night."

"No," said Gandalf.  "Beyond those peaks the range bends south-west.  There are many maps in Elrond's house, but I suppose you never thought to look at them?"

"Yes, I did, sometimes," said Karla, "but don't remember them.  Frodo has a better memory for that sort of thing."  As the words poured out from her moth Karla could only sit back and be amazed by the things that she was saying.  Was Frodo really that much better at maps and such tings than Pippin?  She sure hoped so, or the rest of the fellowship might be tempted to lock her up in a rubber room.  But the more she thought about it, the more she came to the realisation that Frodo being gifted at reading maps made sense.  Wasn't Bilbo's house filled with maps?  It had seemed that way in the movie, with Bilbo's study literally filled with maps.  But the certainty with which she had spoken those words was a little uncanny, if not slightly unnerving. 

After a quick break where Karla and Merry rested and the rest of the fellowship finished packing, everyone was on their feet and marching again.  It was to be another gruelling day of marching, moving ever onward to a future that only Karla had any real inkling of understanding.  And that, Karla had to admit to herself, was true only if her being there hadn't changed anything.

But the walking, all that walking, was becoming both bone wearying and mind numbing.  Trying to preserve as much energy as possible, everyone had taken to walking in silence.  And, by the end of the day, everyone was usually content with sitting down to a meal and relishing the notion of not moving, especially moving under their own power.

But that in particular, as it came time to go to sleep, Karla was suddenly over come by a vague feeling of dread.  Although she could not say exactly what, it was as though some sixth sense was trying to warn her of something.  But Karla, not one to be taken in by all that ESP stuff, managed to convince herself that it was just the anxiety of the situation that was bothering her, and not some outside knowledge that she alone was privy to.

Lying in her bedroll, Karla was finally able to relax, lulled to sleep by the thought of a roaring fire and a nicely cooked hot meal (since Sam had been promoted to camp cook, as her previous attempts to use a campfire had failed miserably).  And it was in that place in between wakefulness and sleep that Karla found herself passing most of the night, not completely asleep, but not really awake.

It felt like she had only been asleep for a few minutes, but looking at the darkness of the sky must have been much longer, when a strange tension in the air woke her up.  Without opening her eyes, she could hear Sam and Aragorn dive for cover and then a flock of birds ("what did they call them in the movie?" Karla couldn't help but think) flew over their heads.  As silence once again reined, a natural silence for a change, both quiet, yet soothing, Karla started to fall asleep again, thinking that she must have dreamt the whole thing

Just on the edge of sleep, Karla is suddenly awoken by a terrifying thought:  the fellowship isn't suppose to meet the Crebain at night (or was it really very early in the morning?) when everyone was asleep, but in the middle of the day while Merry and Pippin are fencing with Boromir!

It was then, at that exact moment that she knew.  It was then that she realised that her lack of knowledge, both of the story and the characters, as well as the plot and outcome, could highly change the face of Middle Earth. 

Waking up the next morning, Karla was dismayed to hear that they would no longer have a fire.  There was just something about sitting down to a hot meal after a hard day's work (even if that day's work only consisted of walking extraordinary distances).  But at least, heading south, they were heading to warmer conditions, or so Gandalf had said.  If they couldn't have a fire, at least heading south, the temperature was going to be warmer.

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I just wanted to thank everyone who has read my story and enjoyed it.  I especially wanted to thank those who were kind enough to drop me a review to tell me of their enjoyment (what can I say, reviews are the life-blood in the veins of a fanfic writer)

LalaithoftheBruinen—Thanks for the review.  I'm glad that you like the story so far, and as for the others realising that Pippin isn't who they think he is?  Well, since they're not expecting him to be other than he is, I'm sure they'd be willing to over look a lot (wouldn't you?)

Serpent of Light—I'm glad you like what is going on.  Hopefully this doesn't disappoint either.

A/N:  For those who noticed, yes, some of the sentences are taken directly from FOTR


	6. High Hopes

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Ch 4  High Hopes

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Karla had never felt so cold in all her life.  One would think that living on the Prairies, and the Northern Prairies at that, a person would get accustomed to the cold.  It isn't like that could be considered a moderate climate or anything.  But even that was no preparation for the cold she was facing.  And it wasn't just the cold that was the problem:  it was all the consistent walking.  Trudging through snow that came up to her waist, teeth chattering, toes numb, and everything else exhausted beyond belief, she couldn't believe that she had consented to climb a mountain.  Then again, it wasn't like she had much of a choice; she had to mentally remind herself.  In all truth, she hadn't really signed up for this job anyway.  But one of the good things about all that snow is that there was no way to look down.  She, at least, could live in relative ignorance about just how high they were actually climbing, not that she was afraid of heights, per se.  No, she wasn't afraid of heights, but she sure didn't like them, and with a great passion.

But the more the fellowship walked the higher they got.  Soon it was hard not to be aware of how high they were.  Everything, from the altitude, to the air, to the biting cold (as if it could get any colder, huh?) was a constant reminder of the fact that they were climbing a mountain.  As subtle as they were, even all those things were easy enough for her to ignore.  As a river of snow came cascading down the mountain, in what looked to Karla, like an attempt to bury the Fellowship, she was made frighteningly aware of just how high they had climbed.

"Ok," Karla quietly coached herself, "we are not _that_ high up.  I can handle this."  And taking a deep breath, she tried to reassure herself of that actuality.  But by taking in such a deep breath of such cold air, all she could do was choke on the cold, as the frosty air entered her tortured lungs.

Managing to get herself under control she quickly looked around to see if anyone else had noticed her embarrassing episode.  Since no one else seemed to have stirred in the lease bit, she felt safe in assuming that no one was aware of her discomfiture.   But the higher they seemed to climb the more Karla kept telling herself.  "Don't look down.  Just remember, don't look down."  And luckily for Karla, she could still not see down the mountain.  "And if I don't look, it won't hurt," she carefully said to herself, not caring if anyone else heard.

Gimli, who must have over-heard Karla's grumbled ranting was in complete agreement with the sentiment.  "The tops of mountains are no place for Dwarves or Hobbits."    And looking over at Gimli, who said nothing further, she was glad that at least one other person felt the same way she did.

With the snow swirling around them, cocooning them in an icy blanket, Karla was constantly aware of the futility of trying to get over the mountain.  At that moment she would have laid odds that Everest would have been an easier climb, not that anyone there would have known what she was talking about.  But something of those tortured grumbling must have come out of her mouth, for Gimli was in compete agreement with that as well.

"There is no way we'll make it over this accursed mountain," he commented back to Karla, knowing that she was the only person close enough to hear him.  With the wind and snow blowing as heavily as it was, it was hard to hear the person next to you, let alone anyone any distance away.

" I know," Karla couldn't help but agree.  "We'll be trapped for sure, especially if the snow gets any worse."  Having been forewarned by the movie, Karla knew exactly how this ill-fated expedition was going to end.  She only hoped that she didn't give too much away with her comment.  But since Gimli didn't seem to think anything of it, she guessed that it was just as logical coming from a hobbit from the Shire as it would have been coming from a man from Gondor.  But looking up, Karla couldn't help but notice that the wind seemed to be picking up.

As if aware of the ramblings going on in her mind, another river of snow came cascading down the mountain directly in front of the fellowship, barely missing Gandalf and Aragorn, as they were out front, trying to clear something resembling a path for the rest of the group.  As the snow cleared from that last attack by the mountain Karla could see what looked to her like Gandalf and Aragorn arguing.  Because of the distance, not that they were that far away, she had difficulty hearing what they were saying, but the snippets that came her way, carried on the wind, made it obvious enough that they were in disagreement on whether to continue up the mountain or go back down.  The thing is, it seemed to her that Gandalf was the one who wanted to go down the moutain where was Aragorn was the one who seemed to think that everyone should continue up.  "Odd, wasn't it the other way around?"

"What was that, Pippin?"  

"Huh?  What did you say, Merry?  I couldn't hear you over the wind."

"I thought you were talking to me Pip.  You seemed to be saying something."

"Oh, that.  I was just wondering if this means we can turn around."  Hoping that sounded close enough for Merry's sake, Karla mentally chastised herself, reminding herself to keep her mouth shut.  If she couldn't do that, soon everyone would be looking into locking her up in a rubber room (although she wasn't sure if they had rubber rooms back there or what they did).

"I know Pip.  If we keep going the way we're going, we're going to be a bunch of Hobbit sized snow drifts come morning."

Looking over at Sam and Frodo, Karla could see that all the Hobbits were in much the same predicament.  Their lack of size, coupled with their lack of endurance (although that had been increasing in leaps and bounds since the whole adventure began) was beginning to take its toll on them.  Sam, Frodo, and Merry looked about as bad as she felt, even if the heights and the thought that they could fall off the side of the mountain at any moment, didn't seem to bother them any.  But that was to be expected, Kara had to remind herself.  Since they were close to half the size as the humans or the elf (who seemed to have all the luck), they had to work twice as hard to get through all the snowdrifts, even with Aragorn clearing a path for them.

Waiting for Aragorn and Gandalf to come to some sort of conclusion to their disagreement, Karla couldn't help but wonder if the movie and the book were ever going to converge again, or if her being there had changed things irreparably.  The further along the adventure she went, the more she became aware of the facts that events were happening that were completely different from the movie.


	7. Deep Thoughs and Dark Discoveries

Please see chapter 1 for any disclaimers.

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Ch. 5   Deep Thoughts and Dark Discoveries

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It seemed to take Gandalf and Aragorn an eternity to come to some sort of conclusion.  Sitting in the snow as they all were, every second seemed to feel like an eternity, a bone numbing, and ice chilling eternity.  But finally, as the two turned around, it became apparent to all that they had made up their minds.  Karla could only hope that, whatever that decision was, it had something to do with a roaring fire and a hot meal

Hot fire?  After all that time Karla was beginning to wonder if she would even know what a roaring fire and a hot meal were.  Then again, Karla would also settle for just being warm again.  Never in all her life had she ever felt so cold.  It sure gave new dimension to the cold of the Prairies.  But as Aragorn and Gandalf bent to pick up their packs, it became apparent to everyone that there was to be no rest, and even more disappointing, no fire for them just yet.  Even Bill the pony seemed to look longingly at their small spot of shelter (if shelter is what they could have called that spot) before letting Sam lead him on.

But after a spell of walking even the air seemed to lose some of its coldness.  In actuality, the cold began to take on a whole new dimension, as though the air itself had a life of its own and was encouraging the company onward.  But onward to what Karla had no notion.  The only thought in her brain was that she must move onward, one step after another.  To cease moving was to cease being.  Yet as she walked Karla could almost hear the wind talking to her.  Did wind talk?  Somehow, as cold as she was, she was sure she heard the voice of the wind calling to her, inviting her to rest a bit before moving onward.  The wind would keep her safe and warm while she took just a little rest.

And rest would have been so nice; Karla had to agree with the wind on that.  Just a short respite before tackling the next step, a quiet respite in which to catch her breath (if anyone could still breathe in all that cold air).  Yet some part of her mind was still conscious of the fact that they all had to keep moving.  By that point she had no notion why, just the knowledge that she must not stop walking.  

Suddenly a strange noise caught Karla's attention.  Why that noise was any different than any other she couldn't have said, but something about it made her stop and look up, wondering what was going on.  It was almost as if there was a voice on the wind calling, not to her that time, but in a strange language that Karla had never heard before.  Was that possible, Karla had to quickly wonder to herself?  But then again, if the wind could have a voice, it must have been possible for that voice to have a language all it's own.  Shaking her head, Karla could only wonder at the strange thoughts that were running around in her head.  Wind that had both a voice and a language?  What would she think of next?

But just as she had stopped moving, so had the rest of the Company.  It was almost as if everyone, to a person, had reacted to some predetermined, but consciously unknown, signal that one of them gave.  No word had been said, and yet, as one, they all stopped and looked up, waiting for something to happen.  Just when Karla was about to think that it was simply the wind whistling against the rocks, although it sounded more like some strange creature howling, it happened.  

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, stones began to fall out of the sky.  Watching as the stones rained down, as though they were thrown directly at the Company, Karla was amazed that she had the peace of mind to move closer to the cliff face, moving herself away from the edge, lest one of the rocks hit her and knock her over the edge, and thus into an almost certain death. 

It took her a few minutes to realize that not only were the stones not falling from the sky, but that they were, in fact, falling off the cliffs above them.  Everyone had also moved closer to the rock face and that it was probably less her powers of observation and more someone giving her a brief shove, that had caused her to move closer to safety.  But in the same breath, she also knew that there was nothing safe about where they were standing, not that anywhere on that mountain felt particularly safe.  Humans (and hobbits by default) were not meant to be that high in the air.  That was a proven fact as far as Karla was concerned.  If people were meant to be high up it wouldn't hurt so much when they fell.

"We must rest."  So saying, Boromir turned to Aragorn, as if waiting for him to dispute that statement.  "There are fell voices on the wind and those boulders were aimed for us."

"But it is just the wind, and there are evils older than Sauron on this mountain."

"And that was just so comforting a thought," Karla couldn't help but respond after Aragorn's uplifting statement.

She must have said that out loud and a bit louder than she would have liked if the swallowed laughs that almost didn't escape Legolas' lips were anything to go by.  Then again, looking at Legolas and giving him a brief and hidden smirk back, it was nice to actually feel like a part of the group, something that Karla really hadn't felt since finding herself lost in Middle Earth.

Swaying on her feet, Karla was caught by the similarity to the events that happened in the movie to the events she just witnessed.  There was something oddly familiar about it all, and yet she still couldn't picture it from the movie.  Was she going insane?  Was the cold finally getting to her?  Somehow she couldn't even recall the movie.  Her brain was so cold that it felt in permanent bewilderment.  Nothing was making sense. She was even beginning to wonder if a place called Earth really existed and if she really was from Canada.  Stranger things had happened before (like being transported into a novel she had never read???).  All she really knew for sure was that she had to keep walking, endlessly walking.

Amazingly, though, it seemed to be doing the trick.  The cold wasn't really as bad as it had been.  If she had the wits about her to think about it, she would have thought that it had actually been getting warmer.  It was a nice feeling, considering that that was the first time she had felt even remotely warm since starting that climb up that God-forsaken mountain.  Then again, somehow that just seemed wrong to her.  Should she have been feeling warm?  Either way, she was, and that was all there was to be said about it.  

It wasn't until she turned her head to look over at Frodo and noticed him lying down in the snow that the danger in their situation struck her.  Some slightly defrosted part of her brain finally registered the threat of hypothermia.  While Boromir was shaking Frodo awake Karla was trying to assess if she really was suffering from it or not.  She just didn't feel cold enough to be suffering from hypothermia.  Shouldn't the sufferer feel cold?

All that thinking was just making her head spin.  What she really needed was a nap.  Then she would wake up back in her bedroom and all this mountain climbing stuff would be a bad dream easily forgotten.  She wasn't really a hobbit anyway (was she?).  Following Frodo's lead, she decided that a nice nap in the warm, snugly snow would be just the thing to help her get her strength back and revitalize her for the remainder of their journey up the hill.

"…This is going to be the death of the halflings!"  From somewhere off to the side of her, Karla vaguely remembered hearing what sounded like Boromir's voice calling out to some anonymous person as rough hands began to shake her awake.

"Just a couple more minutes, mom.  It isn't time for school yet, anyway."

"I don't know about this school thing, master hobbit, but it is walk or freeze for us now," a rather gruff sounding Gimli replied, looking as though he was trying to stifle a small laugh.

"Huh?"  Although she was now back on her feet, somehow the information still wasn't making it's way to her brain.  Didn't everyone know about school?  And what was all this talk about freezing?  She was finally feeling nice and warm.

"The middle of a snow drift is not the best place to be taking a nap, master hobbit.  Best to wait till we make camp somewhere."

The next minutes (or was it hours?) flew by like a blur to Karla.  One minute she was being forced to her feet and the next someone is pouring the most amazing liquor down her throat.  Suddenly all drowsiness and fatigue left her and she finally felt able to keep going.  But much to Karla's delight, Gandalf finally relented and let them make a fire.  But that warm respite didn't last long.  All too soon they were on the move again.  

It wasn't long before the Company ran into another snowdrift.

"We'll never be able to get past this one," Karla couldn't help but say out loud, getting nods of agreement from the other Hobbits as well as Gimli.  It seemed for once that Gimli had to suffer the same disadvantages as the hobbits.  

"Well, when brains are at a loss, bodies must serve, as they say in my country."  And with that, Boromir enlisted the help of Aragorn, and together they moved to clear a path for the others to follow.  But, while she had expected Aragorn to take the lead, as he had done so many times on this journey, it was Boromir, the slightly smaller, yet definitely broader of the two, who took the lead, working to clear the worst of the snow.

While the rest of the Company did various things to fill time, waiting for Aragorn and Boromir to return, Karla sat staring down the path that the two had made.  Suddenly, while looking in the direction that the men had gone Karla was suddenly struck by the knowledge that, for all intents and purposes, Boromir's days were numbered.  That is to say, each step they Fellowship took away from Rivendell was one more step closer to the moment when the orcs, or whatever they were, killed him and then took Merry and Pippin (or was that she an Merry?).

Thinking about that, Karla couldn't help but wonder if she should tell Boromir about what she knew of what lay ahead.  Then again, would he even believe me, she couldn't help but wonder to herself.  It wasn't everyday someone claimed to know the future, at leave from her experience.

While the debate raged within her, Aragorn and Boromir managed to clear a path past the long, deep snowdrift that had been ahead of them.  And soon, Karla found herself on Boromir's back, being carried down through what was left of the snowdrift.

That would have been the perfect opportunity to tell Boromir all that she knew, and yet still he hesitated. There had to be consequences of her telling, of that she was sure.  It was just not so clear what the consequences might be.  Would it change things?  Had they already been changed enough by her just being there that it didn't matter? More than once while he was carrying her, she almost blurted out the fate that awaited him.  And yet, no matter how much she wanted to tell him, something always held her back.

When they had reached the end of the snowdrift, Boromir placed her gently down, ordering her to stay there with Merry and Legolas as he and Aragorn went to retrieve Sam, Frodo, Gandalf and Gimli.

Watching as Boromir quickly walked away, a feat that amazed her all the more considering how exhausted he must have been after clearing away so much snow, Karla was amazed that he could be the same man so thoroughly taken over the by ring later on.  When he was carrying her, he had been all care and consideration, taking care not to jostle or hurt her any more than necessary.  That, she had to admit, was characteristic of the entire journey with him so far.  Even though it was apparent that Aragorn didn't completely trust him, to her he seemed so much the stereotypical chivalrous knight.

"I wonder if warning him of the power of the ring would lessen it's affect on him, at least enough to allow him to fight it off?"  Being careful not to be heard, Karla couldn't help but muse out loud to herself.  It was a habit she had picked up when she was much younger, and something she had been unable to rid herself of. 

"What holds your attention so thoroughly my young hobbit?"  Turning her head Karla was able to see how intently Legolas had been watching her.  With his elven ears she hoped that he hadn't been able to hear anything.  But by the look on his face, it didn't seem that he had.  At least that was what she was willing to believe.

"I was just wondering about things."

"Things?" Merry echoed, sounding quite intrigued.

"I was just wondering how much of who we are is simply a part of our nature or how much is based on the choices that we make."

"What do you mean?"  Looking entranced, Legolas moved closer to Pippin to hear what the young hobbit had to say.

"It is like the story about the frog who, thinking that it would be safe, agreed to give a scorpion a ride across a lake.  When they had reached half way across the lake, the frog felt a sharp sting and turning, saw that the scorpion had stung him.  When he asked the scorpion why he had done it, as they would now both drown, the scorpion's only reply was that it was in his nature."

Merry looked completely shocked at the depth of Pippin's question and could do nothing more than simply gawk at him as though he were some kind of alien or something.  And take that Merry, Karla couldn't help but want to say.  She was sure that Pippin was a lot more intelligent that Merry, Sam, or Frodo gave the young hobbit credit for.  And as long as she was he, then he would act that way too (at least she hoped she did).

Legolas, on the other hand, seemed to take Karla's query with extreme seriousness.  And after a short pause, which seemed to take an eternity from her point of view, he finally answered.

"I think it would have been best if you had been able to ask Mithrandir this question, but since he is not here, I will do my best to answer.

"Although our nature can affect some of the choices that we make, I believe that it is our choices that affect our nature, and not the other way around."

"Really?"  Quite shocked with that revelation, Karla was gratified to se that Merry looked just as surprised as she felt.  "How can our choices affect what is in our nature to do?"

"Climbing this mountain we have had to ration our food, so we do not run out before we reach the other side, right?"

"That is true."

"Did you ever think about simply eating all the food that we packed and hoping that we got to the other side before we ran out?"

"Not really.  I have thought about having more to eat, like having a real breakfast, but not of eating down our reserves, just in case we got snowed in or something."

"Exactly.  Our choices define what is in our nature to do."

"I hadn't thought of it that way."

While Karla would have liked to have been able to ask more, it was at that moment that Boromir, carrying Sam, and Aragorn, carrying Frodo, came into the clearing where the three were sitting.  There were quickly followed by Gandalf leading Bill, upon which Gimli sat looking none he worse for wear, if a little disgruntled for having been forced on pony back.

Contemplating whether or not to tell Boromir of what lay ahead for him, Karla thought further about the road that lay ahead of them:  the Mines of Moria.

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TBC


	8. Hell Holes and Great Debates

For the usual disclaimer please see Ch. 1

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I apologise for taking so long to update.  

I hope you enjoy this chapter and any reviews you send my way will be much appreciated.  Also, if you would like a faster update….please drop a note saying so.  A little positive feedback goes a long way.

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Ch. 6   Hell Holes And Great Debates

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The darkness was all but complete.  It was an eerie darkness, the kind that envelopes you, consumes you.  The only sound she could hear was the laboured breaths of her companions, as they worked to get their breathing under control after their mad dash into the mine.  All else was silence.

Sitting in the dark quietness that was called Moria Karla couldn't help but wonder what Gandalf would find when he went to examine the door.  Even from where she was sitting she could hear the faint sounds of rocks and trees being piled against the door.  When Gandalf finally returned, exclaiming that that way was sealed, she wasn't in the least bit surprised, but then again, from the looks on her companions' faces, they weren't either.

"What was that thing, and was it waiting for us?"   As Frodo looked at Gandalf everyone could see that he was almost afraid of the answer that he would get.    
  
"As for what it was, I don't know.  But there are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world"

"The deep places of the world.  What an ominous ring that has," Karla couldn't help but add.  There was just something sinister and foreboding about calling Moria one of the 'deep places of the world'.

"But let us stop here and have something to eat."  Now that Frodo had begun to shake off some of the terror that he felt, he was beginning to fell hungry again.

Karla, amazed at Frodo's ability to just shake off such a terrifying event, let alone eat, could do nothing but sit and watch as the hobbits ate more food in that one sitting than her whole family would have eaten in an entire day, or so it seemed to her.

Although very un-hobbit like, the very thought of food seemed to curdle her stomach.  She knew she should eat, and she also knew that if she really were Pippin, nothing would have kept her away from the brief repast that they had put out.  But for Karla, even the small sips of water she had managed to swallow seemed to desire to make a repeat appearance.

"Are you feeling alright Pip?  You haven't touched your food."

"I'm fine Merry, just a little unnerved by that creature, whatever it was."

Gandalf must have felt that way about most of the party, because after they had eaten he decided to give them all a third sip of the _miruvor_.  Although there was not much left, Karla had to agree that it was a good idea.  

But after only a brief rest, they were off again, searching for a way out of the dark gloom the Dwarves called Moria.

It was easily decided that Gandalf, with his lighted staff would lead the way, joined by Gimli, the only one of the Company who truly felt any peace in the dark caverns of the mine.

But as they marched Karla found it increasingly difficult to keep her eyes off of Boromir.  Partly that might have been because he was walking infront of her, but mostly it was because he had been increasingly on her mind.  

There was just something vibrantly 'alive' about the man.  While he might never have been born to be king, there was no mistaking his commanding presence that made him a good leader, none the less.  

But her attention was also drawn to the quiet, unassuming presence behind her as well.  So similar, yet so different were the two men of Gondor.  'I wonder how Strider would have responded to this dilemma' Karla thought.

Moving closer to Boromir, Karla felt a burning desire to talk to him, since he'd been so prevalently on her mind.  Yet the closer she got, the more she hesitated.  What should she say?  'I'm sorry, but did you know that you're about to die any day now?'  How does one tell another about their impending demise?

"What has you so troubled, little one?"

With a little jump of surprise, Karla turned to look at Boromir.  So caught up in her own thoughts, she hadn't realised that he'd been watching her, or that she'd been staring at him.  Then again, maybe that was just fate telling her she had the perfect time to talk to him, but now to begin? 

"Sometimes I find it so hard to believe that so much pain and suffering could come from something so small.  Is the ring really that evil?"

"Evil?  I don't' know if I'd call the ring evil, little one. "

"Then what would you call it?"

"Would you consider that sword you're carrying evil?"

Looking at the sword she was carrying, as it sat strapped to her waist, Karla thought about the inherent evil that could be present in the weapon.  Sure, it could be used for evil purposes, but she didn't think she had used it for anything but self-preservation, even if that did mean killing a whole slew of Orcs along the way.

"No, I don't think the sword is evil."

"Then what makes you think that the ring is any more evil than that sword.  It is the weapon of the enemy, much as our swords are our weapons."

"But can a weapon not be evil?  Look at the way the ring has corrupted everyone who has used it?"  Looking at Frodo, Karla was aware that even that far into the journey Frodo had begun to change.  His attitude towards the ring had become more and more possessive, more and more secretive.  The ring was starting to consume him. 

Looking a Boromir, Karla could see just how much thought he was putting into his answer.

"I guess you could say that there is, I think, a darkness inside all of us.  The darkness in the world calls to the darkness inside of us."

"The evil in the world tempts us to do evil things?"

"It is not a call that we have to answer, but one that we can chose to answer or not.  If Gandalf were to call out to me now, I could just as easily ignore his call as answer it.  So it is with the darkness within us.  We can chose to listen to and answer the call of the darkness in the world, or we can choose to ignore evil's call.  The temptation is present, but the choice is ours."

Not knowing how to respond, Karla could do no more than just walk beside Boromir, thinking about all the things that he had said to her.  Was he right?  Was the call of the ring something that each of us had a choice to ignore?  If that were so, then did Boromir chose to ignore the warnings of everyone around him or did he think he was strong enough to control it?

The more she thought about it the more confused she became.  Even after having talked to him she felt no closer to coming to a resolution about her dilemma.  Should she speak to Boromir about her knowledge or not?  She couldn't just come out and say 'So, how susceptible to the ring do you feel because very shortly you'll be put to the test and fail'.

But even as she was talking to Boromir Karla could feel Aragorn walking behind them, watching everything they did.  Although he said very little, Karla had the feeling that very little passed his notice.

With a subtle nod in her direction, Aragorn once again turned his direction towards the rest of the Company.  Was he trying to give her a subtle warning?  A clue?  Lost in the confusion that was her thoughts, Karla continued to walk, that unceasing motion that exhausted her more than anything else.

By the time that Gandalf finally called a halt to the day's walk Karla was so exhausted that even her brain had ceased to function.  For the first time in her life she understood how people who are sleep deprived refer to that feeling as being 'punch drunk'.  The silliest things seem amusing and there becomes no such thing as common sense (although for the most part she had determined that common sense did not really exist anyway.  While some people may have some sense, there was nothing common about it).

And so, when she and Merry found a door that lead into what looked to be a chamber she was all able and willing to walk blindly into it.  As long as it looked like a safe place to rest she was all for it.  To her fogged and unresponsive brain the room looked safe, secure, and a good place to take a break for the night (that is if it really was night).

It wasn't until Gandalf mentioned the word 'danger' that Karla's sleep deprived brain even registered the very idea of trouble in that room.  Ready to walk blindly into the room, Gandalf had to call the two hobbits back before they walked into a big whole in the floor that their sleep blinded eyes completely missed.

Listening to Gandalf's scolding about the well and the danger that it possessed, Karla was secretly fascinated by that dark spot on the floor.  What exactly there was to be fascinated about, Karla could not have said.  As the others were unrolling their bedrolls and preparing to make camp, Karla couldn't help but feel herself being drawn closer to the hole in the floor, much as a moth must feel when drawn closer to the flame.

Leaning over the hole, all Karla could feel was the wind on her face coming up from that dark pit whose bottom seemed  endless, an bottomless hole  where one could fall for all eternity and never meet the end.  On an impulse, as that thought ran through her head, Karla could feel herself pick up a small pebble and drip it down the hole, expecting to hear nothing but the soft 'whoosh' of the pebble as it fell through space.

Suddenly, and much to her sleep deprived brain's surprise, there came what might have been a soft plunk, as if the pebble had hit some still water.  But the sound, as it reverberated through the tunnel, seemed to magnify and grow steadily louder.

Startled by the sound, Gandalf cried out, trying to find the source of the sound, being both relieved and irritated to find out what Pippin had done.

With Gandalf's cry of ' fool of a Took' ringing in her ears, Karla was duly chastised for her lapse in thinking.  What had she been thinking?  Not even she knew the answer to that.  Even just a few seconds after dropping that rock down the whole her own action seemed ludicrous to her.  What must the rest of the Company be thinking?

Hearing the crash of the pebble falling, no one made a sound.  It didn't take long for the silence in the room to feel suffocating.  Everyone seemed poised, waiting for something to happen, though no one for sure knew what.  

It wasn't until that moment that Karla's brain began to kick into over-drive.  Suddenly she knew what was to come.  Her sudden gasp was quickly followed by the almost silent tom-tap, tom-tap that echoed through the room.

"What have I done?"  Feeling almost in a panic, Karla looked from one member of the Company to another, just waiting for someone to chastise her.  Then again, what could they say that she hadn't privately said to herself in the split second it took her brain to register what that drum sound meant.

Gandalf, though, had to admit that, while not the smartest move one could make, it probably had very little to do with the cause of the drumming sound.  Instead, it most likely was cause by their very presence in the mines.

"But, Master Took, because of your foolish actions you can take first watch."

"Like I could sleep anyway," Karla quietly muttered to herself as she tried to settle herself into a comfortable position. 

But there was no comfortable position for Karla.  Images of Orcs climbing up the well kept intruding into her thoughts.  Even the slightest sound made her jump.  What she wanted more than anything at that moment was to cover that blasted hole.  But after her first time going near it, she dared not make a second.

After only an hour Gandalf came over and sat beside Karla.  Deep in thought and worrying about where the Company was going to go next, he knew he would not get any more sleep tonight.  As well, watching Pippin jump at even the smallest of sounds, Gandalf was clearly aware of how tired the young hobbit was.

With a kind smile, Gandalf ushered Pippin into a corner to get some rest.  But after the fiasco of the day, Pippin was reluctant to move too far away from the Gandalf.  After sending Pippin off to sleep, Gandalf pulled out his pipe and began to smoke.

Watching Gandalf smoke, listening to he quiet in the cave, Karla's mind was soon drawn back to the problem of Boromir.  If she told him about what was to come, would it change things?

Turning in her bedroll to look at Gandalf, Karla quietly posed the question to him.

"Gandalf, if someone knew what has going to happen in the future, would they be able to change it?"

"What was that?"  Having attracted his full attention, Gandalf turned to look at the young hobbit.

"Well, say you knew that something bad was going to happen to someone.  Would you tell that person?  And if so, would that prevent the bad thing from happening?"

Giving Pippin a long, hard stare, Gandalf seemed to be considering how to answer this question.

Not wanting to give too much of herself away, or the fact that she might know more about this journey that Pippin should, Karla mentioned to Gandalf the brief conversation that she had with Legolas on the Caradhras.

"So, I was thinking.  If the choices we make determine who we are, and who we are determine how we respond to a situation, then even if we knew what was going to happen, would we really be able to do anything about it?"

"My how philosophical you have gotten this late at night, but I think that perhaps this might have been a question best put to Lord Elrond."  Looking at Pippin, Gandalf had a knowing smile no his face, and for one brief moment Karla thought he might know the truth.  But no sooner had she seen that look than it disappeared, hidden behind that enigmatic look that he so often wore when talking to her.

"Oh, well I guess it is a little late for that."

"Pippin, while most people think of life as a straight line, with one even leading to another in a linear sequence, try to imagine life as a spider's web."

"A spider's web?  How so?"

"In life there are important events, the kinds of things that are important in shaping our live.  I guess some people tend to call them 'life defining moments' or pivotal experiences."

"Ok, I understand that. Pivotal experiences."

"Now, imagine those experiences are connected in much the same way that the strands of a spider's web are connected."

"Connected like a web.  I see."

"While one connection can lead you to the next, others take you away from that same point.  But, all connections are important for the stability of the web.  Right?"

"I guess."

"What would happen if I took away one of those connections?"

"There would be a big hole in the web."

"And what would happen if you took away one of those connections?"

"There would be another big hole in the web."

"Our lives are like that.  The web of life is affected by everyone around us. Each experience we have builds connections, strengthening the web.  Each experience we lose takes away a connection, thus weakening the web."

"If it is an important event, then it is something that you have to do, and if it isn't important then it doesn't matter if you do it or not, it won't change things at all."

"So, what you're saying is that life happens and we have to go through it whether we want to or not."

"What I am saying is that while there are many paths in life, many different ways of getting somewhere they all, inevitably, take you to the same place. Does that help any?"

"I don't know…maybe."

"Then get some sleep and let me think."

The next day was much of the same, endless walking.  Just when Karla felt like she had walked the circumference of the earth, the Company came to a room full of dust with a single oblong block about two feet high and upon which was laid a great slab of white stone.

Stepping forward, Karla was amazed at the stonework.  She had never seen such elegant stonework in her life.  So amazed was she that she almost missed Gandalf as he read the inscription on the stone.  

It wasn't until she heard Gandalf voice the name of Balin that she became aware of what was coming up next:  a cave troll.  The problem was, how was she suppose to tell the group that they would soon be encountering a cave troll, something hobbits should have very little knowledge of.

Deciding to hold her tongue this time and hoping it was the right decision, Karla began to help the others search the room, looking for some clue as to Balin's fate.  It suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea how the dwarf died.  Was it mentioned in the movie?  She had not recollection of it if it was.  Then again, from the way that Gimli talked about Balin as they were hiking down Caradhras she almost felt like she knew the dwarf.    So fondly had Gimli spoken of Balin that it was almost like he had been a member of the Fellowship.

Lost in thought, Karla barley noticed that Gandalf, who was standing not far from her, had stopped moving and was starting to read a book.  It wasn't until his clear voice cut through the silence that she was aware of what was happening.

Listening to Gandalf read, one line reverberated in Karla's head over and over again.  'We cannot get out.  We cannot get out."  Looking around the room she was sure they were trapped, and if the look on Gandalf's and Aragorn's face was anything to go by, she was sure they were aware of it too.

Deciding to pack up the book and take it with them, Gandalf handed the book to Gimli and started everyone off back to the hall.

No sooner had the words left Gandalf's mouth than a loud boom seemed to come from the depths below them.  Just like in the movie, just like what happened to the dwarves before them, they were trapped.

Standing there with the other hobbits, not knowing what to do and too stunned to think of something useful to do, the first thing she was aware of was Aragorn's command to shut and bar the door.  

Afraid to bar the door for fear of being trapped as the dwarves before them, yet not wishing to give free access to the Orcs, Boromir finally shoved the door shut, wedging it closed with a broken sword.  

Karla's worst fear had come true:  they were trapped in the Chamber of records.

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I would like to thank everyone who has read my story, especially those kind enough to write a review and tell me so.


	9. Rude Awakenings

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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Ch. 7  Rude Awakenings 

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Doom, doom.

Doom, doom.

The sound, like an unearthly heartbeat, seemed to echo in the chamber.   

Doom, doom. 

Doom, doom.

No one seemed to move, either afraid to break the silent tension in the room, or else anticipating something no one seemed ready to put voice to.  Whatever the reason, time seemed to stand still as the Company stood there, waiting for their foe to make the next move.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang against the door.   Karla looked around the room, wondering if someone else was going to respond to the noise, hoping that someone would come up with a plan to get them out of that mess before too long.  Somehow,  Karla knew, they would have to face a cave troll first.

Suddenly there was another bang against the door, only this time the door started to slowly side open, as though some great force were steadily pushing against the door, forcing it open.

Then Karla saw it, what looked to be a greyish green shoulder soon followed by the arm, came through the door.  As Karla stood and stared in amazement it didn't take long for the rest of the troll to find its way through the door.  The cave troll had arrived.

Drawing her sword, Karla stood ready to do battle, willing to fight orcs and trolls alike in defence of her friends.  Suddenly, as if out of the air, Boromir's words from the other day came back to Karla.  "Would you consider that sword you're carrying evil?"

Looking down at her sword, Karla was struck by the realisation that, yes, she would have to consider some aspects of her sword evil.  There was an inherent evil in the weapon, if nothing more than by the nature of its design.  Karla realised then that the sword was made for one purpose and one purpose only:  to kill.  Holding her sword, Karla got ready to use it in the purpose for which it was made.

Boromir was the first to react, drawing his sword swiftly and accurately against the creature.  Unfortunately the blow seemed to bounce off the creature, as if Boromir had a bamboo stick in hand and not a deadly sword.

As if watching Boromir spurned him into action, Frodo quickly drew his sword and, with the battle cry of "The Shire!" launched himself at the troll, drawing first blood.  But not to be out done, Aragorn and Legolas were soon in the thick of things, fighting their way to freedom.

But no sooner had the battle begun that Boromir was able to throw himself against the door, shutting it once again.  The cave troll was locked out.

While Karla was thankful that that problem had been easily solved, the locked door didn't seem to deter the invading orcs any, as they beat against the door with a passion to defeat the Fellowship.  In no time at all their numbers were swarming through the door with one sole thought running through their heads:  kill.

Legolas with his amazing bow skills and Aragorn and Boromir with their swordsmanship managed to kill many and soon the orc were running in retreat, leaving the defenders unharmed.

"Let us go before the troll returns," Gandalf cried out, echoing everyone's unspoken thoughts.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a great Orc Chieftain appeared, a huge spear in its hand.  Somehow managing to avoid the two human warriors near the door, the orc seemed to make a b-line straight for Frodo.  At least to Karla it looked like the orc was intentionally heading in Frodo's direction.  And, with one desperate thrust, the orc managed to thrust his spear, catching Frodo squarely in the side, slamming the poor hobbit against the wall. 

No sooner had the Orc Chieftain struck Frodo than Anduirl, wielded by Aragorn, came down upon his head, dispatching it as quickly as it had attempted to dispatch Frodo.  Sparing the orc not a second thought, Aragorn kicked the carcass out of the way in his attempt to see to Frodo.

Just as Aragorn reached the unconscious hobbit Gandalf cried out for everyone to run.  Picking up Frodo, Aragorn made for the stairs, pushing the shocked and frightened hobbits ahead of him.

While Aragorn stopped to pick up the unconscious Frodo, everyone else made a mad dash towards the stairs, hoping to avoid a further fight and not wanting to consider the fate of the Ringbearer.

As they were running Frodo began to squirm in Aragorn's arms and was soon asking to be put down.  So shocked was he to see Frodo moving that Aragorn almost dropped the dazed hobbit.

"I'm alright.  I'm not hurt.  Please put me down."

"Not hurt?  You should be dead.  That spear could have skewered a wild boar!"  Too amazed to think much about it, Aragorn put Frodo down carefully, lest the hobbit be more injured that he thought and fall.

But seeing that Frodo was able to keep up, the Company kept running, heading constantly downward towards the Bridge of Khazad-dum.

Making it to the brink of the bridge, Gandalf stopped, instructing them to cross single-file.

Arrows were flying throught he air, one striking Frodo and bouncing off.  Other flew through the air, hoping to find some target into which to land.

Legolas, returning fire with his own bow, suddenly stopped, staring at the group of orcs.  As if en mass, the group of orcs seemed to part, seemingly to allow some creature to pass by.  Whatever was coming, it seemed to bring fear into the eyes of the elf.

Suddenly Legolas saw it, the one thing that managed to draw terror into the heart of the elf.

"A Balrog.  A Balrog is coming."

Looking, Karla could only stare in wonder at the creature moving towards them.  Somehow the movie just couldn't fully detail the majesty and the destructive power of the Balrog.  There was just something inexplicable about it…as though to try to confine it to mere words was like trying to contain its power in a mason jar.

"Quick, over the bridge," Gandalf cried out, drawing everyones attention away from the evil creature and towards their goal.  "This is a foe beyond any of you.  Fly!"

As they made it to the other side of the bridge, Karla saw, to her amazement and despair, Gandalf's last stand against the Balrog.  

While she saw the whole thing, the actual events of the battle were lost to Karla.  One minute Gandalf was standing there, Glamdring glittering white in his hand as he did battle against the Balrog.  The next thing she knew, she was looking into Gandalf's wise eyes, as though they were burrowing into her soul as he shouted out for everyone to run.

Who moved first, Karla wasn't sure, but the next thing she knew, Aragorn was rousing everyone to run, heading Gandalf's last wishes before he fell.

With Aragorn leading them and Boromir pulling up the rear, the Company made for the safety of the outside world, always behind them the echoing heartbeat of the drums ringing their doom, doom…..doom, doom.

Slowly as they ran, the drum beats seemed to get quieter, as the drummer seemed to fade further and further into the gloom of Khazad-dum.

Doom, doom.

Doom, doom.

Quieter and quieter, slowly fading into the darkness, and to Karla, seeming to signal the end of Gandalf the Grey, until finally they, like he were gone.

And looking into the darkness of the Mines of Moria Karla was struck with the realisation that, while she had been consciously aware of Boromir, or more precisely, of Boromir's untimely demise, not once had she worried or considered Gandalf's fall in the Mines of Moria.


	10. The Road Last Taken

Disclaimer: Just to let you all know. I neither own the characters nor the copy right on them. I'm just obsessed about them and think about them way too much

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Chapter 8 The Road Last Taken

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There are some things that, once done, can never be undone. There are some paths that, once we start down them, we can never turn back from.

That was the first thought that popped into Karla's head. For the first time in her life Karla was beginning to understand what those statements meant. Before, when she had thought of those things, she had thought of actions. When you break something you can't magically un-break it. When you hit someone you can't turn back the clock and un-hit them. Never had she thought in terms of omissions. She did now.

Since people were getting up, Karla assumed that Aragorn must have said where they were going, but some how it just didn't register in her brain. Nothing seemed to register in her brain. Gandalf was dead, fallen into fire and shadow. He was gone, and it was her fault. That was the only thought she seemed able to carry.

"Come, we must hurry. We dare not linger any longer."

Aragorn's voice calling out to all in the Company jarred Karla from her reverie. It was true, they didn't have time to sit and mope. Instead, they must flee at once before the orcs came, or what other evil might live in Moria.

Just thinking of that name gave Karla the shivers. Moria. More like death embodied, a living graveyard, a living tomb; a monument to the valiant death of Gandalf the Grey. So much meaning for so little a word.

But she didn't have time to dwell on such thoughts. Already Karla could see the others moving, heading to wherever Strider was leading. Although how he handled his grief so well was a mystery to her. She knew she had to be strong, she just didn't know how.

"Are you alright, little one?" The hand that touched her shoulder almost made her jump. She hadn't heard Boromir come up beside her, so wrapped up had she been in her own thoughts.

"Sure. I'm fine."

"Then come. Aragorn is right. We must hurry. Soon these hills will be teeming with orcs, and we need to be well away before they are."

"But where will we go?"

"I do not know, little one, but I am sure that Aragorn had discussed this with Gandalf." At least Boromir hoped he had. For him, this whole journey seemed like an ill-fated disaster and this last incident just seemed to reinforce that thought. He still felt it would be so much better to take the ring to Gondor and from there, attack their enemy. What better way to defeat an enemy that to turn his strength against him? But alas, it was a shame that no one could see the wisdom of that.

Watching Pippin get up, Boromir was amazed at the resilience of the hobbits. He could see by how the hobbits moved that they were all exhausted, and even reeling in their grief each got up and started moving, following Aragorn as though he, and he alone were their beacon the only guiding light in the darkness. Shaking his head, Boromir tried to clear his thoughts. This was neither the time nor the place for such way-ward ideas.

If Karla had been able to read Boromir's thoughts she would have been surprised. To her, his penetrating stare was proof that even he knew of her guilt. If he was aware of her failing, then she was sure that everyone was. How could they not? Didn't all but Legolas and Gimli know Pippin better than Boromir?

But at least for the moment she knew she had something to do, something she could do. She had to run.

Run she needed to do and so run she did. It seemed like forever that Aragorn had them running, and at a pace that she didn't think was hobbitly possible. Didn't he realise that such short legs weren't meant to cover such long distances. Didn't any of them realise that? Then again, after failing so miserably in Moria, it didn't seem like her place to point out such shortcomings to anyone, let alone the leader of the Company. If the others could keep moving, she would too. Even if it was the last thing she did, she would keep up, which was a pretty fair statement since it felt like it really would be the last thing she did.

But looking back Legolas was amazed to see how far back the hobbits had fallen. It hardly seemed possible that they could have outdistanced the hobbits so easily, while even Gimli was able to keep up. "Aragorn, we must slow down."

"Legolas, we haven't the time. We are so close to Lothlorien and there is no doubt that Sauron's minions are on our trail even as we speak."

"That is true, but the hobbits aren't able to keep up. Already they fall farther and farther behind."

Looking back Aragorn mouthed an expletive of disgust for not having noticed how far back the hobbits had fallen, especially Frodo, who's safety should have been first on his mind. "Legolas, hold up here. Boromir, come with me."

Turning back Aragorn, noticing Sam and Frodo's injuries had Boromir carry Sam, while he carried Frodo as they continued on their way searching for a safe place to camp. In his grief over Gandalf's death and his need to get the Company to safety, Aragorn had almost forgotten about the injury Frodo had received from the Orc Chieftain as well as Sam's injuries in his valiant efforts to defend Frodo, using what little skills he had. Thankfully, it wasn't long before Aragorn found a suitable campsite at which to inspect the hobbts' injuries.

Finding a safe campsite, Boromir went off in search of game for dinner while Merry, Karla and Gimli set up camp, making a fire and boiling water that Karla was sure Aragorn would need to tend to the injured Sam and Frodo. Didn't doctors always ask for boiling water when tending the sick? If nothing else, at least it was something Karla felt that she could do right.

But watching Aragorn out of the corner of her eyes, Karla couldn't help but feel the guilt of the injuries that he tended weighing heavily upon her shoulders. Would they have been injured if she had mentioned to everyone the dangers of going into Moria? Would they have believed her if she had?

As she tended the campfire and made preparations for dinner, as Sam wouldn't be able to cook, Karla couldn't help but wallow in her own misery, contemplating her own culpability in the whole affair. But unbeknownst to Karla, while she had been watching the others, the others had been watching her. It would seem a silent Pippin was a noticeable Pippin.

Legolas, the first to be concerned, moved closer to Aragorn to speak to him, so as not to concern the others in case his observations were in error. But noticing how silent the young hobbit was, he didn't think so.

"Aragorn, have you noticed anything unusual about Pippin?" Legolas asked, speaking in Elvish so as not to concern the others.

"I was beginning to wonder myself," Aragorn replied back in Elvish. "I don't remember ever not hearing Pippin for so long before. Even on the road from Amon Sul to Rivendell, after Frodo had been injured, I still remember Pippin's voice breaking the monotony of the journey." Not only did it break the monotony of the journey, but to Aragorn it seemed that the chatty little hobbit lightened everyone's spirit as well.

Looking back at the hobbit, both the man and the elf were concerned at the far-off look in the hobbit's eyes. In his stillness it looked as though all sound, all motion had been removed from Pippin's vicinity.

"I've never seen him like this before, you know."

Although trained to be aware of their surroundings, neither Legolas nor Aragorn heard Merry's approach, so caught up were they in their silent observations of Pippin. In actual fact, it took all their training not to jump when he spoke. But keeping a calm façade, they both turned to Merry, looking as though neither was in the least concerned about their young charge.

"I'd speak to him, but I don't know what to say."

"Try not to worry Merry. He's had a bit of a shock, that's all. He'll be his old self in no time." Looking at Merry, Aragorn only hoped he wasn't misleading him.

"Maybe if you spoke to him. He's kinda started to look up to you." Merry couldn't help but hope that Aragorn could fix this problem, whatever it was. For the first time in his life, Merry felt completely out of his element in dealing with his cousin. In the past things had been simpler. Pippin had been, well, Pippin. But this new Pippin, Merry just didn't know how to deal with him.

Getting up, Aragorn went over to sit next to Pippin, noticing for the first time the utter stillness in that tiny body. Somehow Pippin had always just seemed to exude energy, as though he were in a constant state of perpetual motion.

"It's funny, but I don't even remember the first time I met Gandalf…" Aragorn began, hoping that by talking he could help the young hobbit through the trauma. Sitting down next to Pippin, Aragorn tried to act as though nothing was the matter, all the while hoping Pippin would come out of whatever shell he had climbed into.

Turning to look at him Karla knew he was up to something. How could he not be? Pippin might never have picked up on it, but she did and the only thing she knew to do was play along. "Did you know him a very long time?"

"You could say that. He was always popping in and out of my life as far back as I can remember."

"I guess you have a lot of good memories of Gandalf."

"Some good, some not so good."

Surprised at such a candid response, Karla could only stare at Aragorn, wondering how he could say something like that. Didn't people always talk about the good things about people when they died? Wasn't it wrong to speak ill of the dead?

"I see I have surprised you Pippin. Gandalf and I have had some wonderful adventures and I will miss him greatly. But other times I would have sworn that it felt like he was manipulating my life."

"So, what did you do about that?"

"I spoke to Lord Elrond about it. He assured me that if Gandalf was involved in my life, manipulating it or not, then he was there for a reason, and a good one at that."

"Do you believe he was put there for a reason then?" Almost afraid to breathe, Karla couldn't help but ask the question that so mirrored the one in her soul. Had she been sent to Middle Earth for a reason too?

Looking at Pippin, almost as if understanding the unasked question, Aragorn paused before proceeding, needing to think carefully about how to answer. "I think everything that happens happens for a reason. We both affect others and are affected by others. We just might not understand it or see it at the time."

Seeing the understanding in his eyes, Karla suddenly felt free to proceed. It was as though some unspoken force had given her the green light to tell Aragorn all about the mess she has found herself in. "I just don't understand why I'm here." The question just poured out of Karla before she had the presence of mind to think about it.

Of all the things that Pippin could have said, that was the one thing that Aragorn was not prepared for. From the start young Pippin had seemed so sure of his place within the Fellowship, so sure of his right to be there. To be confronted with such a question had Aragorn taking a mental step or two back. "You're here because Lord Elrond picked you to be part of this Fellowship. You are an important part of this Company and that is not something to be taken lightly."

"I don't understand. Elrond could have picked anyone. There were a lot of people wanting to go."

"That is very true. But he picked you. And this Fellowship would not be what it is if it were not for you."

"No doubt. It would have been a lot better, I'm sure. I shouldn't even be here."

Not knowing where Pippin was going with that, Aragorn was at a loss on how to continue. Yet continue he must, if he were going to be of any help to the hobbit. "Pippin, have you ever considered that maybe there was more to our Fellowship than the 9 of us?"

"More? What more could there be?"

"There could be nine people working together to form one unit."

"What's the difference?"

"Together we are a team."

"A team with one weak link."

Smiling for the first time, Aragorn took a deep breath; he finally understood the despair emanating from the poor hobbit. "Actually, we're a team with nine weak links. And that is our greatest strength."

Looking at Aragorn as though he had completely lost his mind, not to mention all semblance of common sense, Karla didn't know how to respond to such an insane remark. What strength could there possibly be in weakness? Wasn't that an oxymoron or something?

"Uh, let me get this straight. The fact that we have so many weak links is our greatest strength."

"That is correct."

"Well then, do our strengths become our greatest weakness?"

"Actually, they do."

Thinking that Aragorn was trying to pull one over on her, Karla began to feel angry.

"Right, and I'm suppose to believe this because…?"

"If someone were to ask you to list three strengths and three weaknesses of Legolas and Gimli, what would you say?"

"Well…" Karla began, not wanting to sound judgemental of her friends. Top know her friends had faults was one thing, to actively list them off was another.

"Ok then," Aragorn cut in, seeing where Pippin's hesitation was coming from, "would you say that the strengths and the weakness for Legolas and Gimli were the same?"

"Well, of course not. Legolas is amazing with the bow and Gimli's axe is like an extension of his arm, his very being."

"Very true. And I'd be surprised if Gimli even knew how to hold a bow, let alone shoot an arrow."

At Aragorn's words, Karla's jaw all but hit the ground. To say it so bluntly, and about their friends too, took her completely by surprise. She didn't know how to respond to that.

"But, Legolas' skill with the bow off sets Gimli's lack of skill, and to honest, I wouldn't trust Legolas with an axe even if I were ten feet away. But don't tell him I said that." With a conspiratorial wink, Aragorn waited, hoping Pippin would understand. But after a brief pause, Aragorn continued.

"The whole, our Fellowship, is more than simply the sum of its parts, its members. It is a whole made greater because of its parts and you are a part of this fellowship, an important part.

"But…" Karla began, but before she could get very far, Aragorn cut her off.

"Let me put it this way. Of everyone in the Fellowship, who would you say has the best eyesight?"

"Well, that's pretty easy. I think Legolas has demonstrated many times how superior his eyesight is."

Aragorn couldn't help but smile over the way that Pippin phrased that answer. "OK then, who would you say has the worst eyesight?"

Karla had to think about that one. Mentally making a list to see who she thought had the worst eyesight, she finally came up with the fact that it seemed, at least to her, that Sam had the worst eyesight. Voicing her answer, she wondered if Aragorn would agree with that, or if maybe Pippin had worse eyesight than she did.

"True enough. Sam does seem to be a bit weak in the eyes, when compared to the rest of the hobbits. But let me ask you another question."

"OK, what is it?"

"On our way to Caradhras, when you and Merry were practicing sword fighting, who first noticed the _crebain_?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think I paid that much attention." But thinking about it, Karla wasn't sure if she didn't remember or not. Somewhere in the back of her mind she seemed to remember Sam talking to Strider about some moving clouds that he saw. "Wasn't it Sam? I seem to remember him pointing out some moving clouds to you. Or am I wrong?"

Trying not to laugh at Pippin's round-a-bout way of answering the question, Aragorn had to agree that Sam was, indeed, the one who first noticed the _crebain_.

"But what does that prove?"

"You, yourself, already said how Sam had the weakest eyesight in the Fellowship, but he was still able to see the _crebain_ before anyone else did."

"So?"

"So, without him the _crebain_ would most likely have lead Sauron's army right to us before we could have gotten away. By looking for danger Sam bought us the time to hide. Sam didn't stop trying to look for danger, even though he has the weakest eyes among us."

"OK, so what you're saying is that our weakness is only really a weakness if we let it be."

"What I am saying is that we all have weaknesses, I more than most. The important thing is to not let those weaknesses stop us from being who we are and doing what we need to do." Looking at Pippin, trying to instil some confidence into the young hobbit, Aragorn wasn't sure how much of the conversation Pippin really understood. "Just remember this one thing: You are an important member of this Fellowship. Without you we are less than we ever could be with you. Never forget that."

Feeling as though the rug had been pulled out from under her, Karla was silent once again.

But this time, she was silent for an entirely different reason.

"But come Pippin. I don't think I've ever seen a hobbit go as long without food as you have recently."

And although she didn't understand why she was there, Karla was beginning to wonder if her being in Middle Earth was more than just bad luck.

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I just want to thank everyone for their patience with this story, and rest assured, I will finish it . I do apologise for the long interval between chapters.

And an especially big THANKYOU to everyone who as sent me a review. I have appreciated every last one of them.


	11. Glooms and Winding Mossy Ways

Please see chapter 1 for any disclaimers.

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Chapter 11 Glooms and Winding Mossy Ways

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A pall hung over the Company as it entered the forest of Lothlorien. It was as though a shroud had enveloped them, dampening their spirits and casting a misty, distorted view of everything around them. And so, as they walked it was as though they were walking through a fog, no one sure of where their next steps would take them or what they would find when they got there.

They all knew the risks, or so Karla kept telling herself. And yet, she wondered how prepared they were for what lay ahead. She wondered how prepared she was for what lay ahead. Back in the real world, or was it the real world? She was beginning to lose track of these things. Earth and Middle Earth were beginning to blend; her old life and her new were melding into some sort of distorted history for her. But back in her old life she had never had to face the prospect of a violent death. Oh, there was death there, just as there was death everywhere, but living in her insular little world, it was not something she faced anywhere but on the evening news, and even there she got the diluted version.

Maybe she wasn't ready for whatever lay ahead. That thought started to play in her head, a cacophony chanting over and over increasing the stress on her already frazzled nerves. Or maybe the tension she felt wasn't just her imagination. Maybe the rest of the Fellowship felt the tension as strongly as she did, but she couldn't understand why. Aragorn and Legolas looked happy to be heading into a forest that they had spent the previous evening telling everyone about. And yet the tension seemed to increase every step forward they took into the enchanted woods.

It wasn't until she had slowed down a bit to get a better look at the forest and had the misfortune of standing in Gimli's path that she found the source of the tension that she had been feeling. Getting almost knocked of her feet she turned to look at the old dwarf, who was amazingly fast on his feet for all his squat stature. One look at his face told a tale all its own.

If tension could be personified then Gimli was that person. His taut features and tight grip on his axe spoke volumes to Karla who had noticed that very little seemed to shake the dwarf, regardless of how he was presented in the movie. And while he didn't tremble or act overly nervous, the tension that exuded from every pore of that dwarf was a like a tidal wave that even boromir must have noticed (although Karla secretly thought that the human was too tied up in his own thoughts to notice any of the others in the fellowship).

But as the day wore on the tension seemed to sap the strength of even Legolas, who always looked like he could go on forever without even breaking out in a slight sweat. But just as they were about to argue over where they Company should rest, whether in the trees or on the ground, a voice called out from the forest.

"Daro!" Legolas, who was about to start climbing the tree nearest to him quickly jumped down in fear and surprise, looking for the owner of the voice. Seeing no one he quickly turned to the others warning them not to move or make a sound.

"Stand still!" he whispered to the others. "Do not move or speak!"

Huddling together, Karla waited with Gimli and the other Hobbits, wondering what would happen to them as Legolas went off to converse with the owner of the disembodied voice.

"Who are those people and what do you think is going to happen?" Merry inquired, looking in the direction Legolas went, hearing him speak in a language he did not recognise.

"They're elves." Sam answered, a sound of awe in his voice. That was one thing that Karla could never help but notice every time someone spoke of elves. Sam seemed to hold them in very high regard. Even though they had been traveling with Legolas all this time the awe with which Sam held elves never seemed to waver.

"Yes they are" came Legolas' reply as he came back towards the group, making not a sound on the forest floor. "And they say that you need have no fear. They have known about us for some time now," and looking at Gimli added, "and they say that you breathe so loudly they could have shot you in the dark."

Huffing at that, Gimli lead the hobbits closer to where Aragorn and Legloas were standing. "But they wish to speak with Frodo first, as they have had some word of his coming. The rest of you are to keep guard under the tree until we return." And with that Legolas lead Frodo off to speak with the others. For no sooner had Legolas lead Frodo over to a tree than a silvery ladder was lowered out of a darkness into which Frodo and Legolas began to climb.

After waiting what seemed an aeon, but which was probably no more than half an hour, a messenger quickly climbed down the ladder that Legolas had lead Frodo up and spoke to Aragorn. After a few quick replies Aragorn turned and started to gather up the gear they had left on the ground.

"Come, gather your gear and take what you will need for the night. I will hide the rest. Tonight we will rest in the trees." Saying that Aragorn quickly went about hiding a good majority of their gear while Karla and the rest of the hobbits split Frodo's sleeping gear between them and started making the long climb up to the top of the tree. Secretly though, Karla had her doubts about the wisdom of that idea. She was never one to like sleeping in bunk beds, considering that it was easy to fall out of them. If she managed to roll off of her bed here it would be one very long trip to the bottom.

Dawn rose fresh and clean over the forest of Lothlorien and Karla felt amazingly well rested considering she thought for sure that she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink the previous night for fear of falling out of her 'bed'. But a new day had dawned and she felt ready to tackle the next leg of their journey, wherever that would lead them.

Looking over she was able to notice the other hobbits still asleep beside her and beyond that Aragorn and Legolas talking to someone else. The elf in question looked anxious that they be on their way, even if the conversation was lost to her. And sure enough, before she was even aware of it Aragorn had come over and started waking the sleeping hobbits telling everyone to get ready for they were to be on their way without delay.

"But where are we going?" Karla couldn't help but find herself asking. If they'd come into the forest for safety, why would they be leaving it so quickly?

"Have patience and you will see a wonder far beyond any your kind has ever seen." And with that parting remark Legolas picked up his own gear and hurried down to the bottom of the tree.

And so the rest of the Company quickly packed their gear and met Legolas; Aragorn, who had uncovered the gear he had hidden from whatever hiding spots he had found, at the bottom of the tree; and Gimli. With them were Haldir and his brother Rumil, and it looked like Haldir and Aragorn were having a bit of a disagreement about something, although Karla couldn't hear what they were talking about.

"I will not be carted along blindfolded like a prisoner while everyone else walks free!"

As Gimli's voice rose above the quiet of the morning air Karla immediately realised that Gimli was the subject of the argument. Well, to be more precise, Gimli walking free and without a blindfold seemed to be the problem. And so on the verbal altercation went, with neither side willing to back down until Gimli stated, quite emphatically, that he would rather turn around and head home than proceed further being treated in such a disgraceful manner.

"Enough! If I am to lead this fellowship then follow me you will. We will all go blindfolded." So saying, Aragorn turned to Haldir and motioned that he should begin binding all their eyes. And just when Legolas was about to complain, as Karla was sure that Aragorn had anticipated, Aragron gave him such a cutting look that not even Legolas was willing to dissent.

The grin on Gimli's face as he watched Legolas get blindfolded was the last thing Karla saw before her own blindfold was put in place and they were all lead slowly and carefully through the woods. "And who would have thought an elf would pout?" Karla all but mumbled to herself. But hearing Aragorn's choked laughter Karla couldn't help but grin. A pouting Legolas was definitely a sight to be seen, it was just too bad she was blindfolded.

And although it was slow going, they made their way onward. To where, Karla could not have guessed. They could simply have been walking in circles, for all she knew. But eventually they stopped moving and one by one the blindfolds were removed.

Looking out, Karla beheld a sight that she knew she would never see again.

"Welcome to the heart of Elvendom on earth."

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Thanks for all your patience …… the adventure is almost over


End file.
